Against the Wind
by Azrael38
Summary: Sequel to On a Saturday, we find out what happened to Ryan after he left Newport.
1. Chapter 1

_Against the wind  
We were runnin' against the wind  
We were young and strong, we were runnin'  
Against the wind_

Ryan reached over to grab his pack as his ride pulled up to the curb. The middle aged driver looked with skepticism at the ivy covered walls. "Are you sure this is the right place, kid? This looks like some sort of school or something."

Ryan rolled his eyes. Of course it was a school. The word 'school' carved in stone outside the front gate should have been the first clue. _I shouldn't be so hard on the guy_, he thought to himself. _At least he gave me a ride for the past few hours_. "Don't worry, this is it. Thanks again." He closed the door to the four door sedan and waited as it swung back out into traffic before he crossed the street. As he walked up the long drive towards the main building, he reflected back on the long six months it had taken him to reach his destination. He had worked many jobs, doing everything from handing out fliers to putting up shingles. He had gotten rides from truck drivers, clergy, bands, and the overweight man next door. He'd had days where he couldn't eat anymore and he'd had days where he couldn't find anything to eat. The trip had been liberating and frightening and long and lonely and amazing all at the same time, but he was finally there, the address he had forfeited two months of pay to obtain scrawled on a yellow piece of paper clutched in his hand. The hall name had been burned into his skull but he checked the paper for the umpteenth time that day. Finally finding the dorm, he walked through the front door, ignoring the looks (and hungry eyes) he got from the females populating the lobby. Ascending the stairs two at a time, he finally reached the right floor. He checked the slip again, but he already knew the room number by heart.

_Room 302. _He was finally there.

After traveling 3,500 miles over six months, Ryan was at the dorm room of the love of his life _**on her birthday**_ and he… froze. Questions raced to the front of his mind: What if he had come all this way for nothing? What if she had forgotten about him? What if she was seeing someone else? What if she figured out that she could do better? He was saved from answering these questions as the door to the room opened and a beautiful auburn-haired girl ran into his chest.

"Oh, I'm so sor- Ryan?"

"Hey Taylor," he managed to get out before Taylor Townsend jumped into his arms and kissed him hard.

_**Two and a half years later**_

Ryan opened the door to his apartment and threw his keys on the counter, sighing as he flopped on the couch after a long day of work. Construction was a hard job to have. He loved being involved with the building trade but the hours were long and tough. He couldn't have stuck with it without the help of his boss, Mike. He had helped Ryan get the job when he knew that it was against the law for him to work there. Mike looked at Ryan like the son that he and his wife had never had, so he watched out for him.

"Taylor," he called out, "I'm home."

"I'm in the bedroom," she yelled back. Ryan grinned, imagining what she might be doing in the bedroom all by herself. His dirty fantasies were shattered when he entered the room and saw his girlfriend sitting on their bed, studying.

"I figured you'd wearing a little less and not studying," he looked at the book, "French literature when I came home. Classes don't start for another couple weeks, Taylor."

"I know," she said, closing the book. "I just wanted to get a little head start on the rest of the class. You can never be too prepared."

"You've already got a head start. You graduated from high school a year early. You're a year younger than most of the people you go to class with, not to mention that you're smarter than most of them, too," he said as he joined her on the bed.

"Awww, thanks. But I had motivation to graduate early. After all, the faster I got out of that school, the more we could see each other. And I do so like having you come home all sweaty and dirty and manly smelling." Taylor smiled seductively as she pulled Ryan on top of her. "It does wonders for a girl's libido."

Ryan leaned down and captured her lips with his own. He was struggling with her buttons when the phone rang. Taylor moved to grab the cordless from the stand near the bed but was stopped by Ryan. "Leave it," he growled. She moaned in compliance as the answering machine picked up.

_This is Ryan and Taylor. Leave a message at the tone. BEEP!_

_Hey Ryan, it's me, Seth._ That caught Ryan's attention. _I've got some bad news._ A slight pause followed by a sniffle. _Mom died the other day. I thought maybe you might want to come back and pay your last respects. Call me buddy. Bye._

_

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_

A/N: Okay so I'd like to know what people thought of this. Just a little test to see if anyone is interested in reading a little more. Fair warning though: If I do go the full story route with this, it won't be ready for a month or so. Hope everyone enjoys!

AZ


	2. Chapter 2

Taylor yawned, stretching her arms as much as the cramped confines of the car would allow, as she awoke from her slumber. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she noticed that the dry scenery of New Mexico and Arizona had become the beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean that she remembered.

California. She was back.

"Hey there," she heard from the driver's seat. She turned her head and directed a smile at her boyfriend.

"Hey yourself," Taylor responded with a smile. "I take it we're almost there?"

Ryan nodded. "About thirty minutes out." He nodded his head in the direction of the panoramic view of the ocean. "Have you missed it?"

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "In a way. The Atlantic doesn't lend itself to the same type of impressive view as the Pacific, but I've come to love the change. I feel like a stranger here now." She checked to see if they had any snacks left in the cooler that she had packed before they left. Finding nothing besides a bottle of water, she grabbed it and sipped it as she watched the waves break upon the rocky shore. It had been almost three years since she had been back in California.

_Three years._

The thought gave her pause. There were things she couldn't remember anymore, like the fastest way to get to the diner, or the most direct route to Harbor, for example. There were also things she'd never forget, such as her mother's penchant for escaping to Cabo during the cold months and that one, magical summer that changed everything.

She was a new woman now, though. Things were different. They had both changed since then. Ryan had given up on blaming himself for all that had happened back in Newport, although she suspected that had to do more with the lack of contact from that area than her attempts at therapy. Her 'sessions' usually lasted hours, but had more to do with testing the limits of contraceptives than resolving Ryan's issues. Now that he was eighteen, he could work on his GED without having to worry about being brought into custody for being a runaway. He was also making good money working construction, something she knew he had some proficiency with. Taylor didn't think it would take much longer before he gained more responsibility on the job site, probably something along the lines of a foreman.

As for her, she had finished high school a year early and was attending UMass starting in the fall. Attending a prestigious Ivy League school became secondary to just getting a degree but she wouldn't just settle for any school. UMass gave her a great opportunity at a great university. Her major was going to be journalism, a focus she had come to love while in private school. You could say that her romance with the written word started when she was a child, but she really began to fall in love with writing when she began her book.

It had started as a simple diary or journal, something to pass the time and help organize her thoughts. What it turned into was a fictionalized retelling of the events of that last summer she spent in Newport, with Ryan. The salacious book became a huge hit with young adult girls across the country and, before she knew it, she was a hit. Due to her connections to the Southern California area, she had been invited multiple times to attend book signings and to give readings, but she always declined. She had no intention of going back if she could help it.

This was different. Ryan needed her here. So here she was, in their way too tiny car, traveling down the Pacific Coast Highway towards the Cohens' house. Or new house, as Ryan had put it. The earthquake a few months back (on her birthday of all days) had destroyed it, along with a number of other houses and landmarks. But now they were back. Right back where they started from; where she had learned to be her own woman and Ryan had learned his self-worth.

Speaking of, she looked over at the young man driving and smiled. He was leaning back in the seat, aviators perched on his nose to block out the sun, sipping his own water bottle. "What," he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, still smiling. God, she loved him. Showing up outside her dorm those years ago had surprised her to no end. After recovering from her shock, she had dragged him into her room and almost raped him right then and there except for the presence of her roommate, Alicia.

_**Two and a Half Years Ago**_

Ahem.

_The sound of a throat clearing broke the concentration of the two teenagers aggressively making out inside the dorm room and both stared at the voice. Taylor's face turned bright red. "Oh, uh, Alicia. Hey. This is Ryan, my, uh… boyfriend."_

_To his credit, Ryan didn't lose a step as he attempted to hold together the torn shirt while walking to the smirking girl sitting at her desk. "Ryan Atwood," he said, holding out his hand._

"_I've heard your name a few times," the raven haired girl replied. "What," she asked at Taylor's questioning look. "You moan loudly." She turned back to Ryan as Taylor turned bright red. Again. "I'm Alicia, Taylor's roommate."_

_Taylor did her best to compose herself. "I know we're not supposed to have boys in the room, but Ryan kind of surprised me for my birthday." She smiled at the boy. "I had no idea he was coming."_

_Alicia waved her hand. "It's cool. Doesn't bother me. So that was pretty sweet of you to come all the way to Massachusetts to surprise your girlfriend with a visit."_

_Ryan ran his hand through his hair. "Well, it's not really a visit. I'm moving up here to be closer to Taylor." He and Alicia both turned to look at the aforementioned girl as she tried to take a deep breath and drink her water at the same time. "That part was also kind of a surprise."_

"_You're moving up here," Taylor questioned once she had regained her breath. "What about school, work, money?"_

_Ryan shrugged. "I can worry about school when I turn eighteen. I'll get my GED then. As for work, who knows? I found plenty of things to do to make money on the way here. I'm sure something will turn up." He took Taylor's hands in his own. "I couldn't stay there after you left. I had to be close to you."_

"_Awww," Alicia cooed. "That is so adorable! How did you meet a guy like this, Taylor?"_

One Hour Later

"_And now here I am," Ryan said as he finished the tale of how he made it to their school. "It was a long trip and took a lot longer than I thought but it was worth it to be here with her," he said kissing her forehead._

"_How romantic is that? You come all the way out here, with no idea of where you'll stay or what you'll do for money." Alicia sits up, thinking. "You know, I might be able to do something about that last part. I'm from this area and my dad owns his own construction company. Have you ever done anything like that?"_

_Ryan smiled. "Yeah, I think I can handle it."_

_**Present Day**_

Alicia's dad had really come through for her boyfriend, Taylor thought as she came up out of her memory. He had set Ryan up with a job and, upon finding out more about the young man he was possibly illegally employing, offered him room and board. Brad Silver had come to be looked upon by both Ryan and Taylor as the father that neither had ever really had, save for the short time Ryan had lived with the Cohens. Upon hearing that someone close to the both of them had passed away back in Newport, he had insisted Ryan take a few days off to come down here, with the expressed order that he take as much time as he needed.

The slowing of the vehicle brought Taylor fully out of her thoughts and she looked around at the neighborhood. Very impressive. The house they were pulling up to was much bigger than the Cohens' old house. Hell, it was almost as big as Caleb's old mansion. They parked and Taylor followed Ryan up to the front door, standing off to the side as he rang the bell. The door was shortly opened by a tall, lanky boy with dark hair and it took Taylor a second to realize that she was looking at Seth Cohen.

"Ryan," Seth asked. He was answered by his best friend with a nod of the head. "It's good to see you, man," he said, sweeping the other boy into a hug. Ryan seemed a little startled, but quickly returned the gesture. After a short time, Seth broke the hug and turned to her. "Hey Taylor."

"Hello Seth," she said as she, too, was welcomed with a hug.

"Let's get you guys inside and settled in. I'm sure you're tired after your long drive."

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A/N: So I know this has taken a lot longer than I promised but I'm really hoping to get back into writing again. It has kinda taken a backseat to RL, which has been crazy. I'm pretty excited about where I see this going so I hope you all enjoy! Please read and review! Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Ryan took a deep breath and stretched as he came back in to the Cohens' house. It had been a long time since he had run on the beach and he had forgotten how much harder it was to run on the soft surface than a hard, stable road. However, the house was perched right near the beach as opposed to their previous house, which was situated up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. He made his way up to the room Seth had set them up with when they had gotten in last night and stripped down for a shower.

As he washed the sand from his body, he thought of how much Seth had changed since he had last seen him. The last image he had of his friend was from the night that he left, as Seth rode away from the pier on his bike, all decked out in black clothing. The thought of his friend decked out in stealth gear brought a small smile to his face. At the same time, he wondered where Sandy had been when he and Taylor had gotten in. The Sandy Cohen he remembered would always be the first to greet guests as they arrived at 'Casa Cohen' for a visit. He must have been out late, Ryan thought to himself. After all, they had gone to sleep relatively early due to the long drive.

As he toweled himself off and walked back into the room, he saw Taylor rummaging through her suitcase. "Morning, babe," he said, greeting her with a kiss.

"Good morning to you, too! Did you have a good run?"

"It was good running on the beach again," he said, dropping the towel and grabbing clothes for the day. "Do you think it's odd that we didn't see Sandy last night?"

His girlfriend grabbed her toiletry kit as she got ready to shower herself. "Kind of. You've got to understand that he just lost his wife, Ryan. I can't even begin to imagine how he feels, let alone know if he's up for receiving guests. We'll ask Seth when we go downstairs," she said as she headed for the bathroom.

_Later_

As Ryan and Taylor walked downstairs to the kitchen, the familiar scent of brewing coffee and toasting bread greeted Ryan's nose. The memory of those family mornings in the old house brought a small smile to his lips. Sure enough, Seth was in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee and munching on a bagel as the two walked into the kitchen. "Morning," he said over the paper and around a mouthful of bagel. "How did you guys sleep last night?"

"Good," Ryan said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Thanks for the spare bedroom."

Seth got up, sliced a couple bagels and put them in the toaster. "Of course, buddy." He gestured out to the back yard. "No pool house," he said with a smile.

Ryan chuckled as he and Taylor joined Seth at the table. "So how are you doing," he asked Seth, getting into the reason they were there.

"It's hard. Losing Mom was…" Seth took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "It was unexpected, to say the least. They think the reason she… didn't make it was because of her fall back during the earthquake."

"What happened during the earthquake," Taylor asked.

"Mom was working late at the Newport Group that night by herself, finishing up some project or another, and she fell down the stairs. She called Dad and they got to the hospital. The doctor ran some tests and said everything was fine then but now they think they might have missed something." He rubbed his face and Ryan saw some tears fall. "Sophie was born alright but Mom started hemorrhaging afterward and never stopped."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Ryan started, but was stopped by Seth.

"I understand, man. You guys have your own life in Massachusetts now. But we'll have to go visit your new baby sister today." He smiled for the first time since mentioning his mother. "She's adorable. Looks just like The Kirsten."

"Is that where Sandy is," Taylor asked.

Seth frowned. "No, Dad is here, up in his room. He hasn't seen Sophie since Mom died. He's taking things really hard. Losing her was even tougher on him than it was on me. I'm kind of taking the lead on everything with the funeral and trying to get Sophie home." Seth got up and carried his empty mug over to the sink. "I'm glad you guys came back into town. I'm going crazy here trying to do everything. I could really use your help if that's okay."

"Of course that's okay," Taylor said, placing her mug in the sink and giving him a hug. "Ryan and I will help with whatever we can, right?" Ryan nodded his assent. "In fact, I'll see what I can do to help you out with the funeral."

"Thanks, Taylor. I'll get the funeral home's information to you." He finished cleaning up the leftovers from breakfast and Ryan was careful to notice that he left a few sliced bagels out on a plate, presumably for his dad. "So, let's see. What else is new?" Seth tilted his head in thought. "So much has changed since you guys left. I'm sure you knew about Grandpa dying, right?" Both shook their heads. "Yeah, well Grandpa passed about two years ago, broke. The Newport Group was overextended on all its loans and it took some financial wizardry by Mom and Dad to keep it from going belly up. We stopped talking to him after you left. Mom and Dad both figured he had forced you out when we heard Taylor had been sent to a boarding school and they were pretty much done with him. He gave Mom The Newport Group in his will in an attempt to patch things up but I think Mom really hated him until she died. Have you kept tabs on _your_ mom," he asked Taylor.

"I haven't heard anything from or about my mom since I left. Why?"

"Your book _ruined_ your mom," Seth volunteered. "I think everyone could tell that it wasn't fiction and the Newpsies had a field day with all the gossip. When Caleb left her with nothing in his will, that was the beginning. Your book was the final straw. She was broke for the longest time. Her and Mom became good friends after awhile."

"Are you serious," Taylor said, stunned. "My mom and Kirsten Cohen were friends?"

"I know. I guess being broke kind of gives you a better perspective on life. Anyway, she's doing much better now. She's running an NPO that she and Mom started up."

"And Kaitlin," a formerly quiet Ryan asked. "How's she doing?"

"Mini Coop?" Seth laughed. "She's good I guess. Mom talked to her a couple weeks back. She said she hadn't heard from you in forever and that you need to call her."

"You've been talking to Kaitlin Cooper," Taylor asked. "How come you didn't tell me?"

Ryan shrugged. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Besides, I was just doing what you told me to do." He rolled his eyes at Taylor's blank stare. "I was moving on."

"Oh. Right. Well good. So what is Kaitlin Cooper up to Seth?"

"She's living up in Sacramento with her aunt or something, going to school. She's doing pretty good."

"Why is she living with her aunt," Taylor asked.

"Dude, you didn't tell her _anything_," Seth asked Ryan.

"I honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal."

Seth continued. "Marissa got out of the Psych Ward but what happened," he motioned with his hand as if to say _in the past,_ "hung with her I guess because she OD'd after her dad went to jail. After Marissa died, Julie lost it and committed suicide. Kaitlin's the only one left."

"Wow. That's just…" Taylor faded off, at a loss for words.

"I know. At first, I just kept up with her so I could find out how Marissa was doing." Ryan rubbed his head. "I blamed myself when I first heard about her OD'ing but Kaitlin finally closed the door on that."

Seth laughed. "Yeah, she has a tendency to get right to the point. Kinda like her mom."

Ryan nodded. "Well, she lit into me. Told me to stop blaming myself for Marissa's problems and live my life. I did but kept in touch."

"Well, I hate to break up all the reminiscing," Seth said, getting up from the counter, "but I've got loads to do today. I'm going to head up to the hospital here in a little while to see our sister if you want to come with?"

"That's great," Taylor offered. "I think I'm going to drive separately, though. I might stop by the funeral home afterward to check on how things are going there and see if they need anything from me."

_Later_

"This should be the floor," Seth offered as the trio stepped out of the elevator onto the floor housing the maternity ward. "Excuse me," he said as he approached the desk, "I'm looking for my sister, Sophie Kirsten Cohen?"

The nurse on duty typed in a few keystrokes on the computer in front of her. "She's still in the nursery but the doctors aren't worried about her. She's doing very well," the nurse said, smiling. "If you follow the sign on the wall, you can see your sister."

Seth led the way to the large window overlooking the location of the youngest Cohen, Ryan and Taylor having trouble keeping up with him in his hurry to see his sister. He had already joined a dark-haired female in staring through the large windows by the time Ryan and Taylor turned the corner. "How is she," he asked the unnamed woman.

"She's fine, Cohen," the brunette said, sparking recognition in Ryan's eyes. "She's just laying there."

"Summer," Ryan questioned. "Is that you?"

"Hey, Atwood," the petite girl offered as she turned to face him.

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A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying. Let me know if you don't enjoy something or anything by reviewing. I love feedback! AZ


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